Karaoke baby
by Kristenschaalisahorse
Summary: A karaoke night adventure among friends which ends up being cut short by a baby's arrival.
1. Chapter 1

_I had this idea at like, 2:30 in the morning (when the best ideas seem to come!) and thought I'd see if it went anywhere. It did, and I had alot of fun with it. Also, I might write a sequel/ch 2 later on, so I'm leaving it as "incomplete" for now. Okay, enjoy. I really hope you guys get the name reference, hee hee._

"Come on, Terezi, tell me again what he said! Why did he want to come here?" Vriska asked, amused, as she opened another sugar packet and poured it into her lemonade.

Terezi twirled the contents of her own drink with her straw. "I've told you three times already, Vriska. It's not _that _funny."

"Please, just once more? I promise I'll stop asking after this!"

"Vriska."

"Come on, pleeeeeeeease?"

Terezi sighed. "Fine. He said he wanted to come here as one more fun thing before the baby came, and-"

She didn't even finish that time. Vriska started laughing at that point, making Terezi roll her eyes for the third time that night.

"'Karkat' and 'fun' just do not belong in the same sentence!" Vriska managed between the giggles. "It's just so unlike him! Surely you see why this is funny?"

"It wasn't funny when he said it and it's not funny now. Are you sure you didn't get anything special put in your drink, because I doubt a sober person would find it this funny."

Vriska got herself under control and took a long deliberate drink. "Nope, just the guys are drinking tonight, I swear."

Terezi said nothing as she leaned back in her chair, her hands coming together to rest on her enlarged stomach. Vriska looked at her friend and put her arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, come on. Lighten up, preggo. I'm sorry for laughing, okay? We've allllllll been under a lot of stress lately and he was right, this should be a good way to get over it. Let's just have some fun, okay?"

Terezi nodded. "Alright."

"Yeah, there's my best friend!" Vriska smiled, giving Terezi a little pat on the back. She then focused her attention back up front. "Hey look, the guys are up next!"

"I just hope they dont have to do some shitty song or- ahh..."

Terezi suddenly sucked in her breath, grimacing slightly. Vriska looked back at her friend, a small look of worry on her face.

"Are you okay? Is it kicking?"

Terezi shook her head, letting the breath out slowly. "It's these dumb practice contractions. They've been getting more painful by the day."

"Don't go into labor on us now! The guys are about to go up."

Terezi shot Vriska a look. "Yes, because I can control when labor's about to start or not, Vriska."

"No one likes a smartass. Just take a deep breath, and relax."

Terezi took a breath right as the lights dimmed, and the owner of the place took the stage again.

"Alright, it's time for the next act now, singing the infamous "Dont Stop Believin'", by _Journey_. Please welcome, Mr. Nitram and Mr. Vantas!"

The crowd broke into applause as the two stumbled on stage, a little more than slightly drunk. They shook themselves and got ready to perform. A moment later, the song started, and so did the guys' act.

"I didn't know Karkat could sing, too. This night just keeps getting better and better!" Vriska whispered excitedly. Terezi just made a little whimper.

"Here's another surprise. I think my water just broke." she whispered.

Vriska gasped. "You're joking."

"Nope. I guess it's time."

"Holy shit, we've got to go then!" Vriska said, standing so suddenly, her chair toppled over backwards.

"We've got some time, first births always take- oh gog!" Terezi grasped her belly, sucking in another sharp breath.

"Excuse me, you're disrupting the act! Can you _please_ sit down?" the manager whispered sharply, coming over to their table.

"The act has been cut short, she's having a baby!" Vriska said.

"Vriska, please dont make this a big scene." Terezi whispered.

"Karkat! Tavros! We have to go, she's having the baby now!" Vriska yelled, ignoring the part about not making a scene. Every head turned in the place to find the source of the disruption.

"Now? Oh man, fuck this, then!" Karkat said, throwing his microphone down. He nearly fell off the stage instead of using the stairs. Tavros just kind of dropped his microphone and used the stairs. Vriska turned back and kicked her chair out of the way. She then put her arms around Terezi and started helping her walk through the place, thankful it was small so they could exit quickly. At the door, Vriska stopped and turned around once more.

"Oh, and be careful not to slip, her water broke on the floor there. You should probably have someone clean that. Okay, thanks for a great night, we're off to have a baby!"

And with that, the girls were out. The guys exited a moment later.

"Alright, who's got the keys? I'm driving." Vriska said. "Hand them over!"

"I've, uh, got them, I think..." Tavros said, swaying a little as he began digging in his pockets.

"No, you handed them to _me_," Karkat slurred, drunker of the two. He began digging in his own pockets.

Vriska sighed. "Come on, guys, do you want this baby born on the sidewalk right here?" Vriska asked, growing more impatient by the second.

"_Vriska_." Terezi groaned. "_You_ have them. Remember?"

Vriska quickly cheked her own pockets and scoffed to herself as she found them and brought them out.

"Well, okay, lets goooooooo!"

* * *

"I don't understand why it's going so fast! Your water just broke ten minutes ago!" Karkat piped up from the back seat.

"I don't _know..._don't yell at me, Karkat!" Terezi replied, grimacing, as another contraction started. She started taking little breaths.

"I'm not yelling, I'm just worried for your well being!" he spat back.

"Uhm, guys, I'm not sure this is the best time to be arguing..." Tavros piped up.

"No one asked you, Tavros!" Terezi and Karkat yelled together.

"Everyone just shut up!" Vriska yelled, clenching the steering wheel tighter. "We are never going to get there if we keep yelling at each other! Shut up, and let me drive!"

"I'm with Vriska, lets stop yelling at each other. My head is pounding, already." Tavros moaned.

"I don't see you about to squeeze a watermelon sized-thing through a garden-hose sized thing, Tav! You have _no room_ to complain!"

"Oh my god, what are we going to doooo? I don't even have a full-time job, how are we going to support it? And we didn't even have a baby shower! I'm the worse father ever!" Karkat moaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Karkat, please don't do this now, we have enough to worry about as it is..." Terezi muttered.

"What if it doesn't like us? What if we're shitty parents? Oh gog, Terezi, I'm so sorry we roleplayed that night! I'm sorry I got us in this predicament! I gotta get out of here, I'm not ready to be a dad!"

"Are you seriously having a panic attack right now? God, Karkat, that's something Tavros would do, not yoooooooou." Vriska said.

"Uh, I wouldn't have a panic attack...okay well, I might, but it'd be for the same reason he's doing now, so..." Tavros looked sheepishly at Karkat, who still had his head in his hands.

"Oh, gog, hurry up, Vriska, otherwise it's going to be born in this car!" Terezi groaned, grimacing again.

"I'm trying, the hospital is just down this street, hold on!" Vriska said, leaning forward in her seat.

"Oh, fuck, please don't have the baby in the car, Terezi. Just breathe, remember what they told us? Hee-hee-hoo, come on, do it with me!"

She smiled wanly. "Karkat, you're adorable when you're drunk-nervous, but fuck that breathing. It's too late, it's not going to work."

"Just try!" Karkat said, and did the lamaze breathing again himself. After a moment, he rolled his eyes and put his hand on his head. "Wow, all that does is make you feel really lightheaded."

"I can see the hospital, we're nearly there!" Vriska said, sitting up straight in her seat again.

"Oh thank god. This baby wants _out_...ahhh!"

Vriska pulled up to the entrance a moment later, not caring at the moment that they were parked in the ambulance zone, and unbuckled her seatbelt. She got out at lightning speed, and went around to help her friend out. Karkat and Tavros got out more slowly, Karkat with one hand still on his head.

"We made it. Thank god." he said, closing his door.

At that last moment, Terezi let out a groan of pain that triggered something in Karkat's mind that, holy fuck, this was it, the baby was really coming. His vision suddenly wavered and his head felt as though it was a balloon, before promptly going limp and (luckily) falling back into the shocked arms of Tavros, before the world went dark around him.

* * *

An hour later, Karkat sat in one of the plastic hospital chairs with a snickering Tavros by his side, and an ice pack on his head.

"It's been an hour, Tavros, it's not funny anymore." Karkat muttered, glaring sideways at his friend.

"It's still a bit funny. Now _that's_ something I would do."

Karkat sighed. "Whatever."

"Relax, Karkat, it's alright. You got a head injury and a baby in the same night. Who else can say that? Plus, it'll be a fun story to tell the baby when it gets older."

"You're not helping, you know."

Now Tavros sighed. "I know. Just trying to pass the time."

Karkat growled. "Why won't they let me in, or at the very fucking least, give me an update? My girlfriend is here somewhere having our baby and I'm stuck here with an ice pack on my head!" he winced. "It still mildly hurts to yell."

"Take it easy, Karkat. I'm sure you'll hear something soon." he said, giving Karkat a pat on the back. He looked up and grinned. "See, look, here comes Vriska! I'm sure she'll let you know what's up."

Vriska walked over to them and stopped in front of Karkat, smirking. He looked up at her, raising one eyebrow.

"Well?"

Her smirk turned into a gentle smile. "Way to pass out and miss the birth of your own daughter, you douche."

"It's- she's here?" he asked, and Vriska nodded.

"And she's beautiful. You gotta go see her. And your girlfriend too, of course."

Karkat stood and threw the mostly-melted bag of ice on the floor, before walking right past Vriska without another word. Vriska smiled and watched him walk down the hall before bending to pick up the bag, and throwing it onto the seat next to her. She then plopped down by Tavros and leaned into him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"So, uhm, how was it?" he asked.

She sighed. "Let's just say, I personally never want to go through that. If we want kids, we're adopting, okay?"

He hugged her close. "Alright."

She put her head on his shoulder, and yawned. "The baby is really cute though, you've got to see her. She's going to be so pretty."

Tavros kissed the top of her head. "I look forard to it. You were a good friend to be there for her, though. I bet she appreciated it, since Karkat couldn't, exactly."

Vriska giggled. "I can't wait to tell him what he said on the way here. Poor guy, he was freaking out!"

"And then his passing out, I can't wait to tell the baby that when she's older. It was an interesting night, for sure." Tavros said, and sighed. Vriska yawned again and closed her eyes. Less than ten minutes later, the duo were fast asleep.

* * *

Karkat knocked lightly before opening the door, and instantly smiled at the sight ahead. Terezi was propped slightly in the bed, with the tiny bundle held close to her chest. She looked a bit disheveled from the birth, but absolutely happy.

"Terezi?" he whispered, after watching her a few seconds.

She looked up and smiled. "Karkat, there you are. How are you feeling? Come over here and meet your daughter, you jerk."

He stepped in the room and closed the door behind him, and started walking towards the bed. "I'm fine, and I deserved that. Who passes out and misses their kid's birth? I'm so sorry. More importantly though, how are you doing? Is she okay?"

"It's alright. I'm fine, a little sleepy, but so excited that she's here. She's so perfect, Karkat. Seven pounds, just like you predicted."

He got to the bed and immediately leaned in to kiss his girlfriend, before glancing down at his sleeping daughter. Instant tears sprung to his eyes.

"Oh my god, she's so perfect!" he whispered, before leaning in to kiss her. She made a face in her sleep, but didn't stir.

"How'd it go? I still feel terrible for not being able to be here."

Terezi shrugged. "It went fine. I pretty much took it all out on Vriska during it, so I guess you're lucky about that."

Karkat smiled. "I pretty much got a concussion, so I wouldn't exactly call myself lucky. I am kinda glad Vriska got the blunt of it, though."

"And between you and me, she cried when she first saw the baby. Vriska, crying? Weird, right?" Terezi whispered, grinning slightly.

Karkat laughed gently. "Well, it's been a pretty weird night for us all. But can I hold her now? You still haven't told me her name."

"Relax, I'm getting to it. I just want to make sure you dont pass out again, this time while holding her."

"Nah, I'm fine, now."

"Alright, then. Daddy Karkat, take your daughter and get ready to hear her name." Terezi said, and Karkat gently lifted the bundle from her arms.

"Be sure to support her head."

He nodded and rearranged his arms properly. The baby stirred, but again didn't wake up. Karkat leaned in and kissed her forehead again.

"So, what's her name, then?"

Terezi smiled. "Well, Vriska named her. She said that 'Justice' didn't quite suit her after this night, so she came up with another name. I think it fits her perfectly."

Karkat looked momentarily scared. "Oh god, what did she name our baby?"

"Kara."


	2. Chapter 2

_An Anon on Tumblr asked: "What if Karkat sang "Don't Stop Believing" to the baby as her special song when she was fussy?" and I wrote it. After 9 seperate possible next chapter ideas, this is going to become the official chapter two._

* * *

Ever since the day they had brought the baby home from the hospital, when it was his turn to spend time with her, Karkat had sung his daughter a very special song. It was, fittingly, the song that he and Tavros had begun to sing that night in the karaoke bar, "_Don't Stop Believin'". _When he did it, he held his daughter cradled in his arms as he stared down at the tiny, perfect little girl who mostly resembled her mother, but did indeed have his grimace, and gently sung her the special song from the night she was born. And during it, she actually did seem to listen to him, though she might have just been staring up at her daddy instead of actually listening to the words. Karkat had talked to her in the womb, both he and Terezi had throughout the whole pregnancy, but they had not done the "music through headphones on the belly" thing that some parents did with Mozart music to apparently make their unborn children smarter. So this was the first technical song she had heard, and it would be a special one to her for the rest of her life.

Karkat sang her the lyrics as he walked her around the small, colorful nursery, doing his best to try to keep his otherwise loud voice gentle and quiet for her as he sang bits and pieces to the tune:

_Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world, _

_She took the midnight train going anywhere_

_Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit, _

_He took the midnight train going anywhere_

There were no particular lyrics that he favored singing to her, just random bits here and there. Sometimes he would sing the correct lyrics to her, and sometimes he would make up his own to fit her better, it really just depended.

Most of these time he was alone when he sang to her, Terezi off doing something else while he tended to her. And he hadn't told Terezi that he was singing to his daughter yet, it was their special time together. He would only tell if he was caught doing it, which actually was how Terezi discovered it.

Kara was being particularly fussy one day, about three weeks after they had brought her home, and he had tried everything for her, except singing, which he always saved for the last option. He picked her up from the changing table, after discovering that that was not the cause of her crying, and wrapped her in a coddling blanket before taking her in his arms to try his last soothing technique.

She was still crying quite intently when he began singing, but like every other time, the crying quickly tampered off into a series of whimpers and finally hiccups as she heard his voice, and his singing continued through a nearly indistinguishable knock at the door, before Terezi entered the room with a fresh bottle.

"_Some are born to sing the- _oh, hey." he stopped immediately, looking up from the baby and almost sheepishly at his girlfriend standing in the doorway, his cheeks slighly rosy at being caught.

"Are you- is she okay?" Terezi asked after a moment. Karkat cleared his throat before replying.

"Yeah, I think she's good now." Karkat replied, looking back down at the now-calm baby in his arms.

"I didn't know you sang to her."

"I- uh, I've done it since we brought her home. It seems to calm her down really quickly."

"You've been singing to her for three weeks and you haven't told me? That is really sweet. She's had extra special bonding time with her daddy."

"It just seemed so fitting to sing that to her, since we had started to sing that the night she was born, but didn't get to actually finish it."

"Oh that's right, she was way too eager to come that night and didn't let you finish singing it then. But now, I bet she's heard it at least a dozen times."

"Something along those lines. And look, it doesn't just calm her down, but it puts her to sleep, too."

Karkat whispered this, referring to the now sleeping baby in his arms. She gave a tiny sigh of contently in her sleep before Karkat leaned in to kiss her head, and went to set her in her crib. He lay her down in her crib, among the various multi-colored plushy dragons and blankets, and Terezi now leaned in to kiss their daughter, pulling a red blanket up to cover her.

The two left the room quietly, hand in hand to resume their other duties.


End file.
